Advertising or display apparatus



Jan, 27, 1925. w 1,524,111

. i J. SHANNON, JR`

ADVERTISING OR DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed 0011.5, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1m. 27,1925. l 1,524,111 l .1. SHANNON, JR l ADVERTISING OR DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed Oct. 5, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 `7./ j. venan t Zin, flew/nana ZZ/LILI@ J. SHANNON, JR-

ADVERTISINQ 0R DISPLAY APARATUs Filed oct. 5, 1925' 5 sheetssheet 4 J. SHANNON, JR

ADVERTISING oa DISPLAY APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 KA/enfer:

Filed Oct. 5, 192:5

4latented jan. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFEicE.

JOHN SHANNON', JR., OF BELFAST, IRELAND, ASSIGNOR TO SHANNON SHAW MA- CHINES, LIMITED, OF BELFAST, IRELAND.

ADVERTISING OR DISPLAY APPARATUS.

Application Ied ctober 5, 1923.

To aZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN SHANNON, Junior, a subject of the King of England, residing at 142 Old Park Road, Belfast, Ireland, have invented certain new and useiiul Improvements in or Relating to Advertising or Display Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to advertising or display apparatus of the lind in which a number of pictures, inscriptions or the like are automatically and successively exhibited to view for a pre-'determined period of time, and has for its object to provide an improved self-contained apparatus of restricted dimensions in which relatively -large advertising matter may bc exhibited and may also be readilyexchanged.

Various forms of advertising or like 'devices have been proposedV wherein an advertisement is exposed to view for a time and then replaced by another. In some cases the advertisements are arranged on sheets lying one in iront of another, mechanism being provided whereby a transverse rod is arranged to travel behind the sheet being exhibited and draw it upin a loop drop or deposit it at the back of the last sheet ot the series, and thus revealing the next advertisement. In other cases the advertisements are arranged in the torni of an endless circle, each section containing an advertisement having a roller attached to its lower end, this roller being rotated, frictionally or up gearing, in order to roll by the section aiter it has been exhibited and to simultaneously unroll the next section, which thus travels upwards during part of the time that it is on view.

The present inventionv relates to an advertising or show device embodying both of these features, that is to say, the advertisements are on separate sheets, and not on a continuous web, and the change is etiected by rolling up the sheet last exhibited and showing the sheet behind, which is stationary 'during the vrhole time of its exhibition.

The accompanying drawings show, by

Serial No. 666,765.

way of example, a form of construction of an apparatus embodying this invention.

Fig. l is a sectional elevation of the apparatus on the line 1-1 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a section of the lower parts only on the line 2-2 of' Fig'. 1 while Fig. 3 is a section on the line 8 3 (Fig. 1) and Fig. 4: a section on the line 4,-4 (Fig. 1).

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan on the line 5 5 of Fig. l showing the driving gear and Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line (3-6 or" Fig. 1.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 show details of the roller lifting device in three diil'erent positions.

Fig. 10 shows a modiiication of the endless tracks.

In a cabinet having a transparent panel in its front is pivotally mounted near its top and parallel to the front of the cabinet, a roller f hereinafter called the sheet-holder to which a convenient number of iiexible show bills or flexible sheets serving as supports for show bills or devices to be exhibited are securely attached.

The other free ends of said show bills arev each secured to one of a series of travelling rollers 1a to 1.2 (Fig. 4) upon which they are adapted to automatically and alternately unwind and wind themselves in such a way that each of the several show bills is in turn unwound and exhibited tor a predetermined period ot' time behind the glass panelrei'erred to and aifter such. period is automatically vvound up and lifted over the sheet holder thereby exposing to view another show bill which has autrnnatically taken its place.

The rollers ift-42a carry loosely mounted on their ends m sleeves with flanges n and a which firstly serve as jruirnal bearings for the rollers, secondly. constitute guides for their travels along endless slots or channels and thirdly, as regards their flanges n which exceed in diameter a roller with iullv rolled up show bill,-act as distance or Spad ing discs. The rollers-are further provided at each end, with fixed pinions y) adapted to Skil , serve as pivots for the sheet holder f, are

mounted sprocket wheels j and /c respectively, for the endless chains zf, and they are arranged -concentrically 'with the forward 1 sectors of 900 of the arcuate parts g2 and g ofthe channels. The diameter of these forward sectors, that is the parts ofarcsg2 and g3 lying lin front of a plane through the axis of the sprocket wheels jvand is `equal to the diameter of the pitch circle of the latter. 1t follows therefore that in the front part kof the channels the path followed by the rollers is in alignment with the path of chains 7i. The arcuate parts of the channels behind the said plane, however, are of greater radius than the pitch circle (see Figs. 3, 4 and 9) so that the chains and channels follow paths which are out of aligmnent, the path of the latter extending towards the rear, away from the chain path. The rollers 1fL to 12a withshow bills wound up are inserted through slots 13.b provided at the top of Vthechannels and pass down the substantially straight channels g at the back, the foremost rollers passing into 4the curved part g3 at the bottom, the plates V13, 13l bcing between the discs n and nl (Fig. 1). The rollers thus `stored rest with their spae ingv discs n one on the other and in descending have u-nrolled or partly unrfolled their show bills, the foremost roller 11n (Fig. t) which rests at the bottom of curve g3 displaying its bill 11b to its full length, while those of the rollers 10 to1 .are un-rolled only to an extent proportionate to their distance from the sheet holder f and are, of course,'hidden from view by the bill 11b. The second roller 10a isarrested in its travel by det-ents c which prevent the weight of the rollers behind from forcing the roller 11a upwards inthe front part of the channel.

After the desired period for .exhibition haseXpired the'roller 11L is picked up by Y means hereinafter to be described, and carried into and Vup the straight part of the fin-nt channels f/rduring which movement the pinions p rigidly mounted at both ends of the roller engage with the` stationary racks e provided aidjacentto the. said channelsand thereby cause the roller, as for example the roller 12 shown in 3 and L1 to be rotated in such a way that the show bill is wound up on it. When the roller has passed the summit of the curved channel g2 it is automatically released and continues its travel by its own weight on the down grade of the curve into the straight. channel g where it comes to rest on the hindlnost roller 1Z1 and has in its course partly unwou-nd the show bill, while the tension of the show bill causes the sheet holder f to be slightly rotated. Y

The roller 11 when starting on its winding-up motion meets in its path with two lever arms (l rigidly mounted on a transverse shaft 1", carried in brackets r1, and by de pressing these arms it causes the shaft 7' to rock two curved lever-arms fn mounted on il', thereby lifting one arm of each of two double levers u pivoted on brackets t. The other arm of the levers n thus operated act upon arms of the spring actuated detente o which are thereby drawn out of the path of t-he next following roller 10u and allow the latter to advance under thc weight of the rollers 9l etc., behind it. Innnediiuely the roller 11a has cleared the levers (l the `latter spring back into their initial position in the path of the following rollers, under the action of the counterweight Q1 mounted ou an arm g on the shaft r; thecousequent swing ing back of the levers c releases the levers u and allows the detents ff to rise under spring pressure behind roller 10 but in front of the next roller 9.

The rollers are picked up in turn when in their lowerinost position (11a Figs. 3 and 4) by two hooks Z fastened directly opposite each other each to the endless chains )i nereinbefore referred to, the hooks engaging the roller ends m, and are carried up the straight channels g1 (Fig. S) as the chains move up, thereby rolling up the show bill in the manner described, and carrying the roller over the top of the sheet holder back to the straight rear channels g. As will be seen in Fig. 9 after the hooks Z have, passed the summit., the roller will by its weight drop out of the hooks and ouirun theni so that the latter can descend down their own path, clear of the roller ends na.

The endless chains z. are driven from a counter-shaft 15 arranged in the base of the cabinet, by means of sprocket wheels j. chains h1 and sprocket wheels 71:1 mounted on bolts 14a and connected by any suitable means to the sprocket wheels 7e. The counter-shaft receives intermittent rotary niotion through a train of gears eou'iprising a mutilated spur wheel a: which is constantly driven from the motor l) by means of worm gear 16, 17, shaft fw, worm '1S and wormwheel 19 keyed on the shaft 20 together .with the mutilated spur wheel nz, which` during the period when the toothed part of its circumference 1s 1n mesh with the pinion y, transmits the motlon through the spur ISU wheel e on shaft 21 to pinion b1 on the counter-shaft l5. The extent of the toothed part of the mutilated gear wheel is so calculated that the hooks Z travel exactly over one complete circuit of the course described by the chain, while its blank pa-rt, when it runs clear of the pinion y, is measured to correspond to the predetermined period of time allowed lfor exhibition of each show bill.

An alarm s by which the change of show bill is signalled may be arranged to be operated by the lever arm q of shaftin as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Limelights or electric lights c1 (Fig. Li) or other means for illuminating the show bills may be provided preferably mounted inside the cabinet as shown in the drawing.

lVhile the drawings illustrate a speciiic form of construction and arrangement, it is understood that any particular detail may be replaced by equivalent devices or arrangements without prejudice to the main principles of the invention, while the latter is not of course limited to the particular arrangement of mechanism whereby the desired exhibition and rolling up 'of the sheets is effected.

The operation of the apparatus, stated briefly, is substantially as follows z-Taking, for example, the roller lltL (Fig. 4) at the bottom of the endless trackway formed by the channels g, g1, g2, g3, that roller is disposed in contact with the releasing levers (Z, and is free of engagement with the chains ZL and their pick-up hooks Z, its show bill beingl completely unwound. It remains in this position during the period that the show bill is to be displayed, owing to the fact that the rollers behind it are arrested, due to the engagement of the roller 10a immediately succeeding it by the detents c.

During this display period, the chains 71, are idle, because the blank or unt'oothed part of the mutilated gear 0c is then traveling opposite the pinion y, so that the latter remains stationary. Vhen, however, the aforesaid blank part of gear m passes beyond pinion y, and its toothed part starts to mesh therewith, said pinion will be driven and its motion will be transmitted, through gears e and 1 to counter-shaft 175, and thence, through sprockets jl, and chains Ztl and sprockets 701, to sprockets lo and chains h, which latter will thereby be driven. The movement of chains Zt will cause their hooks Z to pick up the ends m of roller il which will thus be carried forward into the lowerend of the vertical front course g1 of the trackway and then upward through said course, and will ultimately be carried into and through the upper arcuate part g2 of the trackway and, hence, over the holder f; during which upward movement the pinions v)non Vthe ends of the roller will be rotated by their engagement with the racks e and the show bill will be wound up. As the roller reaches the summit ofthe arcuate part g2--i. e., the limit yof its upward movement-it disengages itself by gravity from the pick-up hooks Z on the chains, comn pletes its movement through part g2 and descends into the upper part of the rear vertical course g of the trackway, where it falls upon the then uppermost roller lfL in said course; and a-t the same, or substantially the same time, the toothed part of gear m leaves pinion y and its blank part again comes opposite said pinion, whereupon the chains Zt again cease their movement.

Reverting to the initial movement of roller 1l caused by its engagement with the pick-up hooks on the then moving chains L, such movement of the roller results in forcing levers Z to swing or rock in a clockwise direction (Fig. 3), thus rocking shaft r and, in consequence, swinging levers e: leftward and upward, and causing them to lift the adjacent arms of the double levers a. The other arms of said levers u are thereby swung downward, carrying with them the aforesaid detents c, which are thus withdrawn from the path of the roller 10, that roller thereupon assuming the position formerly occupied by roller lla. The cycle of movements above described is then repeated, the detents c being automatically re turned to their original operative position as soon as roller 1la passes beyond levers (Z, due to the action of the counterweight g1 and connected parts. The signal s is actuated automatically by the weight-carrying arm g on shaft r when the latter is rocked consequent upon the depression of levers (Z by roller 11, thereby indicating that a change in rollers is taking place.

Instead of giving the endless tracks or channels, for guiding the rods, a curved or arc format-ion at their lower front portions` which necessitates the provision of fingers or stops to prevent the foremost roller (for example l1 Figurev 4)-the advertisement of which is being displayed-from being forced upwards under the weight of the rollers behind it, I may make the forward lower partV of the endless tracks right-an-l gular or substantially so, as represented in Fig. l0 so that the foremost roller cannot pass upwards in the channels, under pressure of the following rollers` but must be positively raised by the lifting device.

That I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is 1 l. in a display apparatus, the. comliination of a vertical trackway; a set of rollers adapted to travel therein; a rotatable holder at one end of the t-rackway; a flexible sheet individualY to each roller attached thereto at one end and at the other end to the holder so as to be unwound during the movement of the roller away from said holder;

carrier e-mechanism" to pick `up 1 the rollers at the bottom' of' the traclrway, carry them up one side thereofiand'then-release them at the-top'- of said sideV to travelbyigravity down lthe other lsi'deyrsaid `rollers Vpassing around the =holder during their travel; and means for automatically rewvinchng ithe sheetsf'during the movement of their rollers toward the holder.

displayapparatus,:according to claim l, in which the'trackway 'embodies front and-rear; parallel vertical? courses-:and arcu- :ater top andT bottomiportions connecting the saine at opposite-@ends;"and iin, which' the rotatable .holder :is ydisposed at the top of' trackivay, so that the rollers are carried upwardly yalong the Y front course of the traclnv'ay by the. carrier mechanism, moved over the holder :andithenvreleased in position. todescendby gravity through the rear course. e

V3. Ina display `apparatus,'the combination. ofia traclrvvay7 embodying;parallel vertical courses an'dftop and bottom connect'- -ng portions 1 therebetween Aa set of rollers adapted to travel' therein; a rotatable holder :atth'etop-'of theftrack'way; -a lexiblesheet individual to Aeach roller attached thereto 'at one end and at the-othercndto the holder-so as `to `be unavound. during the movement of 'the roller ai'vayifrom-said hol-der; chain-andsprocket mechanism `for picking up thefrollers at thebottom ofthe trackivay, carrying them upward along one Vcoursethereofandoverthe `holder and then releasing them in 1 posit-ion to descend by gravity through the other course and means 'for automatically reivindijng the sheets duringfthe movement Aoftheir rollers toward the holder. 4 n

4, In a display apparatus, the combination ofia vertical trackivfay; `a. set oferollers adapted to travel therein ;-a rotatable yholder Y at one end of the Vtraclt'ivay ;.af ileXible sh eet individual to each roller attached thereto vat oneend and at the other end' to theV holder sons to be univound 'during the movement of the roller away from said'holdcrpcarrier mechanisni :tor picking up' the rollers atl the bottom ol" the -traclrivay, carrying them up one side thereof and then releasing them at the top of saidside to travel by gravity down the other side,'-said rollers passing around the holder during their travel; vmeans for automatically rewin'ding the g sheets during `the movement of their rollers toward the holder;y .an'd automatically controlled mechanism for delivering the rollers one at a time from the last-'named trackway side to the carrier mechanism to be picked up thereby. e

In a display apparatus, the combina. Vtion of a trackivay embodying parallel vertical coursesand top land bottom connecting portionsitherebetiveen; a set of rollers adapte'd'to traveltherein; a rotatable-holder 'at thetopfloffthe traclrway; a flexible sheet individual to :each .roller attached thereto at oncendk and iatl the otheifcn'dto the holder so asl'to be unavoundduring.thefmovement or* the roller away'from said holder; chainland:-sprocket mechanism. for; picking 'upy the rollers lat the bottom of the trackway, carrying ythem upvard ialongone course thliieol Aand oven the holder anch thenv releasing them i'niposition to descend by gravity through thefothcrzcourse; means fo1 automatica]ly re-winding the sheets duringthe increment of their rollers toward the holder; and `automatically cont-rolled mechanism for deliver ingthe rollersone at atime fromthc lustnamed traclrnay` side to thc Carrier mechaA nism `to be; picked upthcreby.

' (i. Inadisplayapparatus,thc combination of a ltrackway .embodying parallel `vertical courses `and top and bottom connecting poru tions therebetween; -a set of rollers -adapted to Vtravel therein; arotatable holder al1-thc top'of ythe -trackway; `a` flexible Sheet individual/tofeachfroller attached thereto at one endand at the other.` end tof theholder so as to be unwound during the movement ol the roller away frolnsaidholder; chain-andsprocketmechanism for picking up therollers at the bottom of the trackway, carrying them upward along one course thereof and oventhe holder and then releasing them in positionvto descend by .gravitylth'rough thcI other course; means for vautomatically rcivindingthe 'sheets iduring the movement' of their rollers toward the holder; and means under the vcontrol ol" the chain-and-sprockct mechanism` orreleasingthe Irollers one at atime from the last-namedcourse to move into-position tofbe picked up by said chainand-sprocket mechanism. e y 7. Display apparatus according to claim G, i-nqvhich the releasing 4means comprises ai stop dev-ice normally `engagingjthe next4 to the 4loivermost roller toarrest its progress` but automatically refleasable therefrom conse .quentuponithe picking up oltlie lowcrmost roller by the chainandsproclmtmechanism. y 8. A display apparatus comprising a rontainer,--a -rotatab'le sheet holder mounted thereinyendlesschannels at either side of the conta .iner,v transverse rods engaging in said cliannels,..a plurality ot'ficxible sheets havingftheir top and bottomimlges attached respectively' to said holder `and` rods, piu i ons on the ends of the rods, travelling means :tor en,g1-agingand` raising `the rods from th(` bQttomf to' the top 'of the `container audmcaus for intermittentlydriving the raising means. andaneansiadjaceut to therhanucls for cn- .gaging the pinionsfandrotating them with their Lrods along `partof the endless channels` substantially as Set forth. y

9. A display apparatus comprising a container, a rotatable sheet holder in the top lill) of the container, endless guide channels at the sides of the container, a plurality otl transverse rods having their ends projecting into said channels, loose guide and distance sleeves on the ends oi said rods, means on the rods and means in the container for causing the rods to be rot-ated about their axes when they are raised, means for engaging the rods when in their lowest position and raising them up over the top of the sheet holder, endless chains carrying said rod engaging means, and means for intermittently driving said chains, substantially as described.

10. A display apparatus comprising a container, a series of' iiexible display sheets each having a carrier rod associated with it, a rotatable holder in the top of the container to which the upper edges of the sheets are attached, means for intermittently and consecutively rolling up the sheets and passing them over the top of the holder for further display, and means for preventing, While a sheet is being displayed, the remaining partly rolled up sheets stacked in the rear part of the endless channels from forcing upwards, by their Weight, the rod of the sheet being exhibited, substantially as described.

11. A display apparatus comprising a cabinet, a sheet holder rotatably mounted transversely in the upper part of the cabinet, endless guide channels at the sides ot the Cabinet, a series of ilexible sheets attached to the sheet holder at their upper ends, a series of rods attached to the lower ends of the sheets and having their ends entering said channels, stationary racks at the sides of the cabinet, toothed pinions faston the rods and adapted to engage the racks when they pass into the t'ront vertical portions ot said guide channels, endless chains adjacent to the guide channels and carrying means for engaging and raising` the rods one by one as they reach the bottom of the guide channels, and means for intermittently driving said chains, substantially as described.

JOHN SHANNON, JUNR.

Witnessed by- A. H. R. CARR, P. SHAW. 

